Georgia shuts out Missouri

In hindsight it seems so obvious. After a week of turmoil and losing the best player in the country, of course Georgia would go on the road and dominate Missouri, 34-0. This season has challenged everything I thought I knew about college football, and while I was so pleased to see Georgia do well yesterday, I have a hard time getting too excited about the win.

As a fan of Georgia, you have to be proud at the way the players responded to the Gurley suspension. I speculated on Saturday morning that for one week the suspension could be motivation for the team to come together and play above their potential, and that is exactly what happened.

Missouri is not a very good team, but to go on the road and play like that in the SEC is not normal, no matter how good or bad a team might be.

Offensively, Georgia did what Georgia doesn’t usually do. They were content, for the entire game, with just running the ball right down their opponent’s throat even though Missouri knew that was what was coming. Often times, Georgia tries to trick the defense and many times, they get too cute with the play calling. Nick Chubb did a good job yesterday, but please don’t tell me that the plan for the rest of the year is to hand the ball off 38 times per game to a freshman running back.

Unfortunately, I believe that the conservative game plan had less to do with a confidence in Chubb, and more to do with Hutson Mason’s limitations as a quarterback. Mason managed the game very well yesterday, and that is not an insult. There were numerous times on third and medium situations where Mason made a big play to pick up the first down and keep a drive alive. However, at no point during the game did Mason stretch the Missouri defense vertically, and I can only remember two pass plays that tried to get the ball downfield. The coaches have now accepted what they have under center and they are going to try and go as long as they can with this dink and dunk passing game and relying completely on the running game. Yesterday it worked, but ultimately, it will be Georgia’s downfall.

The Georgia defense had a day that could change their season yesterday. Georgia was fantastic against the run, which had been Missouri’s strong point offensively. You could see how discombobulated the Missouri offense was when they couldn’t run the ball on first and second down. Maty Mauk had a terrible day, and his receivers didn’t help him one bit, but Georgia was amazing in the secondary. There were multiple times throughout the game where Mauk had all day to throw the ball, but Georgia was so good in coverage, he simply had to throw the ball away, or force an ill-advised throw into coverage. Not only did Georgia shut out Missouri, they never allowed the Tigers to penetrate farther than the Georgia 34 yard line. That is domination.

After the win at Missouri, Georgia is clearly in the driver’s seat in the SEC East. A lot could change quickly, but I don’t think there is much doubt that Georgia is the best team in this division. The question will be whether or not Georgia can win out, and put themselves back in a position to be in the playoff discussion.

Ok, now for the 800 pound elephant in the room.

With Saturday’s game behind us, the entire Bulldog Nation will now turn to Gurley Watch. It is expected that a decision on Todd Gurley’s eligibility will come down early this week (Monday or Tuesday). If the suspension is only one game, then Gurley would probably be able to play this week at Arkansas since Georgia held him out of the Missouri game. Obviously, Georgia fans are hoping to avoid a suspension that would cost Gurley, and Georgia, the rest of the season.

I have gone back and forth on this issue over the past few days. Part of me is so disappointed in Gurley that I don’t want him back. I don’t want to cheer for him. Another part of me wants to see him come back, and play well, because America loves a story of redemption, and I don’t want to judge a kid off of one big error in judgment.

What was obvious from yesterday’s game, Mark Richt, and his team, want Todd Gurley back. Before the game Richt fumbled over himself to make sure people knew he was disappointed in the situation, but not with Todd necessarily. After the game, players left the field with three fingers held high, a tribute to Gurley.

My gut feeling is that the coaches, and the team expect Todd to be back this season and they are already laying the ground work for Todd to be welcomed back when he is eligible again.

I don’t think it is an overstatement to say that Georgia’s season will be decided before kickoff against Arkansas  on Saturday. With the defense making obvious progress and Todd Gurley in the backfield, Georgia will have a chance to achieve all of their goals, but without Gurley, Georgia might win the East, but they won’t be competitive against Auburn or the team they play in the SEC title game.